Monday, January 24, 2011

Stormwater Treatment Terminology: A Tower of Babel

There is a need for a formal, logical and simplified rainwater management framework, say leading practitioners

“The proliferation of terminology has led to misperceptions of performance, uncertainty as to applicability of particular treatment systems, and the inconsistent, confusing, and sometimes illogical application of design criteria,” states Dr. Gary R. Minton, author of the textbook Stormwater Treatment.

"Once one removes the Tower of Babel (as Gary Minton calls it) by going back to basics and examining the physical processes, there are only two processes in play: rainfall infiltration and excess runoff,” adds Jim Dumont, Engineering Applications Authority for the Water Balance Model.

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Incorporated in November 2010, the Partnership is an autonomous non-profit society. The Partnership had its genesis in the Water Sustainability Committee of the BC Water and Waste Association. The Partnership is helping the Province implement the Living Water Smart and Green Communities initiatives. We are doing that through shared responsibility in delivering the Water Sustainability Action Plan. Because the Partnership is the hub for a 'convening for action' network in the local government setting, we are positioned to facilitate alignment of regional and local actions with provincial goals.
We primarily work in the local government context, with a focus on community and regional planning systems, to influence uptake of strategies that will integrate decisions about use and conservation of land with water sustainability outcomes. The guiding philosophy is "design with nature".
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